3 Spiritual Lessons from My Little Pony

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Wait… what?? Did you really just say I could learn “Spiritual Lessons from My Little Pony,” Laura? Have you lost your mind?!

Nope, nope. Actually, I’m quite IN my right mind at the moment, and it feels GREAT!

I had a bit of spiritual awakening this past week. Almost as if God gave me a good Gibbs’ smack upside the head, and I finally realized what He had been trying to tell me for about a year now. 😳 I can be a little dense, apparently… 😜

More on that revelation at a later date. Suffice it to say, I’m finally listening, and God has had PLENTY to say!

For now, on to My Little Pony!

This post has been in the making for several months, so I’m super excited to finally share my complete nerdiness with you. 😜 If you’re part of the Scattered Woman Email Crew, you’ve heard me talk about my affection for My Little Pony before, and you may have even caught the reference in this post.

It’s no big secret!

My daughter discovered My Little Pony, fell in love, and my husband and I were right behind her.

But here’s the thing: the lessons we’re all learning from this show is more than just social niceties and how to be a good friend. (Even though we can ALL use those reminders!)

God has been showing me over the past few years that there is a much bigger picture behind ALL the stories we create and experience in our world.

John and Stasi Eldredge talk about this theme a LOT in their books, so if you haven’t read Wild at Heart, Captivating, or Waking the Dead, PLEASE go grab these books now! (Not kidding. You NEED these books in your library. GO GET THEM!!) Stories are such a HUGE part of how we make sense of the world, and God’s story is one that crops up EVERYWHERE — as long as we’re looking for it. 🙂

How I Teach My Daughter about God using My Little Pony

These three spiritual lessons from My Little Pony are just the big ones I find myself talking about with my 4-year-old. (There are more to come, so stay tuned!) It’s crazy how much she understands at such a young age.

But, then again, it seems most young children are FAR more in tune with the spiritual realm than adults are. With that given, we DEFINITELY need to make sure we’re pointing out these God truths when we see them. Raise ’em up to understand that God is involved in EVERYTHING — even the cartoons they watch!

So, let’s dive into these lessons from My Little Pony before I get off on another tangent! 😜

3 Spiritual Lessons from My Little Pony

1) When we stand together for what is right, God sends His Power to fight for us.

It is amazing to me that very rarely do the Mane 6 (the six main pony characters) defeat a villain by brute force or by their personal talents. It’s almost always with the power of the Elements of Harmony (see video below).

Interestingly, the Elements of Harmony are rather biblically-based concepts themselves — honesty, generosity, loyalty, kindness, laughter, and “magic,” (for our purposes, the power that comes from being knowledgeable in the ways of God and led by the Spirit). That concept may need its own post…

In the later seasons when the Elements of Harmony are no longer available, it is the strength of their friendship and the power they are given when they stand together that defeat the villains.

It’s a beautiful picture of God stepping in to fight for us when we choose to stand against evil together. We never have to stand alone, and we never have to fight in our own strength. “God sets the lonely in families” for a reason! (Psalm 68:6)

“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

~ Deuteronomy 20:4 ~

2) Most villains are simply hurting, confused people.

As you watch the series (and movies) with your child, pay attention to the villains. Particularly, watch Discord, NightMare Moon, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Sunset Shimmer (in the Equestria Girls movies). I won’t completely spoil the storylines for you, but these characters tell us some amazing truths about the “villains” in our own world.

Think about the villains in the shows YOU watch. The best villains often have incredibly tragic backstories. Have you ever noticed that? The bad guys you just love to hate? We can totally understand WHY they act the way they do. It’s hard to blame them for turning out so rotten!

Here in the real world, just like in Equestria, most “villains” are simply hurting, confused people in need of God’s love and mercy. It’s OUR job to show it to them.

It’s important to note: Our Enemy is SINGULAR. We only have ONE.

Those people causing us grief? Maybe even committing unfathomable atrocities? They’re PEOPLE just like us. They have chosen to live in their weaknesses — fear, hurt, anger — and are therefore living under our Enemy’s power. They are deceived and blind to the truth.

But they are still PEOPLE. People we are called to LOVE. We are to hate EVIL, never the person under that evil’s influence.

People are people — even “bad” people — and all are in need of love and forgiveness.

“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.“

~ Luke 6: 27-28 ~

3) God ALWAYS offers redemption.

The biggest thing I love about My Little Pony — both the TV series and the Equestria Girls movies — is that the “bad guys” are often regular ponies that made poor choices based on their traumatic life experiences. (See Spiritual Lesson #2 above.)

But, it goes beyond just recognizing the humanity behind the evil.

We get to see the REDEMPTION of these characters!

When they are confronted with truth, love, and forgiveness, they are offered a chance to make a new start. Often, they choose to repent of their evil ways. Not only that, many of them become positive change agents themselves! They turn from the destructive paths they were on before, and join forces with the ponies who showed them a better way.

This truth is — by FAR — my favorite spiritual lesson I’ve taken from My Little Pony: No matter how badly we screw things up, we are never beyond God’s ability to redeem.

I talk with my daughter about this truth every time it comes up on the show or in the movies. She SEES the dramatic change friendship makes for these characters, so we take that a step further and remind each other that God always forgives and he always redeems. He takes the bad things we’ve done and uses those experiences to help others.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

~ Romans 8:28 (NASB) ~

What truths about God do YOU see in your kids’ favorite shows?

Are you TALKING with them about what you see?

If not, SPEAK UP! Our kids NEED to hear us talking about how we experience God in our everyday lives, even in the seemingly silly things like TV shows and movies. Help them start discovering these hidden-in-plain-sight spiritual lessons for themselves!

As a former University Resident Director, Career Counselor, Certified Personality Trainer, and high school Spanish teacher, Laura has quite the “scattered” background — with one underlying theme: education! She writes to educate and inspire women on topics related to faith, family, and lifework. She is also a resume writer, specializing in resumes for moms, career changers, and new graduates.